Unfortunately I find myself overwhelmed with the long duration of Christmas and I find it difficult to really enjoy Christmas the way that I used to. Between the hectic chores of shopping for gifts, finishing work projects and meeting family obligations it is getting increasingly difficult to sit back, relax and enjoy the season.Often the times reserved for Christmas family celebrations, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, involve last-minute shopping, cooking, cleaning, gift wrapping and traveling and therefore they become a blur of hurried stress.More and more I have found that my personal Christmas, those few moments of complete peace and contentment, fall outside of family gatherings and official Christmas events that I must attend. Sometimes it happens while I am driving around in my car looking at Christmas light displays and listening to Christmas music. It may come during an impromptu visit to a friends house or when someone unexpectedly drops in on me. Often it happens in the middle of a concert or Christmas pageant at my local church. Almost always it happens spontaneously.But what if that moment does not arrive on its own?

Of course you can read some Christmas literature such as stories by Charles Dickens. This experience can be enhanced if you have a fireplace and curl up in a nearby chair to do your reading. Take out your family photos, videos and movies from Christmases past and peruse them. If you really want to preserve these you can scan your non-digital photos and save them on your computer. You can even use a video editing program such as Windows Movie Maker to edit your Christmas photos and videos and save them on a DVD for future viewing. Dont forget to turn out the lights and listen to Christmas music or watch a Christmas video in a candlelit room. Hopefully, by employing one or more of these breaks of tranquility in the midst of the Christmas rush, will you be able to bring back the feelings of Christmas that you once had.

Source imaginative gifts at craft fairs and local markets, where there will be unique foodstuffs and fancy goods, often with no discernible price tag. A delicious food hamper, locally brewed beers, jewellery, paintings, fabrics are often available for sale at artisan markets and are reasonably priced, so helping you to manage the expense of Christmas. Offer help rather than gifts a voucher for an evening babysitting, help with gardening or ironing, a beautiful homemade cake, hair styling or a pamper session may be much appreciated. Any could be a lovely way to give the recipient some much-needed support.Source free entertainment and manage the expense of Christmas Carol services, concerts and country walks are often enjoyable ways of passing a fun few hours and can provide welcome reasons to give everyone a break whilst getting some fresh air.

Either at a Christmas flower greenhouse, in the back row of a church or beside a local skating rink, sit down on a bench and just watch and listen for at least 15 minutes. From peaceful silence and whispers to happy music, singing and playful children voices, let the sounds of Christmas overtake you. If you have children, spend some quality time with them such as baking some favorite Christmas snacks in the kitchen together or making some homemade Christmas decorations or greeting cards. The latter can be made very professionally using a computer program and printer. and if there is a nice snowfall do not go outside to shovel it off your driveway. Take a walk in the falling snow or right after the snowfall. The dulling of sounds that a snowfall brings is amazing. If you have small children pull them along on a sled. For older kids go tobogganing with them, help them make a snowman or a snow fort and have a friendly snowball fight.

Christmas can place an inordinate amount of stress on a tightly managed household budget. A change in circumstances, a reduction in working hours or unexpected emergency can throw precarious finances into crisis. Some families have been found to take up to three years to repay their Christmas spending. A desire to make this time of the year super-special can push already stretched finances to breaking point. Here are a few tips to help you manage the expense of Christmas. You need to set an upper limit on gifts for adults. Then everyone has to use their imagination and be more creative in their gift giving. Or use a Secret Santa where everyone selects a person to buy for, or a bran tub where theres one gift per person, all ways to reduce financial pressure and expense of Christmas. It is often such a relief when one person makes such a suggestion. Usually others are more than happy to agree. You can give children experiences rather than gifts. Maybe commit to one special present per child, but then think of ways to give your time and attention so that you can do things together. Children often treasure those shared experiences, especially if parents are usually busy working or doing chores. A day at the beach, the park, a nature trail, time spent fishing, doing crafts together, playing football are often experiences remembered long after all the expensive gifts have been outgrown.

Are there ways to create that special Christmas moment and rekindle the Christmas spirit that seems to be lacking in a lot of people lives nowadays? Yes there is! Here are just a few suggestions of things that have worked for me to bring back the Christmas feeling that I had in my youth, Spend time with someone who might be feeling lonely, such as a widow or widower, or someone whose family lives far away. Go for a coffee or even dinner or bring some baking to their home and spend some time with them. This will not only provide them with some much-needed company but you will undoubtedly be giving yourself a taste of the real Christmas spirit that you were seeking. after that buy a couple of bags of groceries for the local food bank or for a personal friend. One Christmas I did this and I made an amazing discovery. As I walked the aisles and chose items especially with my friend in mind and according to her tastes, not mine, I experienced the purest joy that I felt that entire Christmas. You can visit a local greenhouse where festive plants are on display and do not be in a rush. Just calmly stroll along and pause to take in all of the sights and aromas.

Source imaginative gifts at craft fairs and local markets, where there will be unique foodstuffs and fancy goods, often with no discernible price tag. A delicious food hamper, locally brewed beers, jewellery, paintings, fabrics are often available for sale at artisan markets and are reasonably priced, so helping you to manage the expense of Christmas. Offer help rather than gifts a voucher for an evening babysitting, help with gardening or ironing, a beautiful homemade cake, hair styling or a pamper session may be much appreciated. Any could be a lovely way to give the recipient some much-needed support.Source free entertainment and manage the expense of Christmas Carol services, concerts and country walks are often enjoyable ways of passing a fun few hours and can provide welcome reasons to give everyone a break whilst getting some fresh air.

Reduce Christmas food spending by preparing in advance tasty staples like casseroles, stews and pies. It is often a treat to wrap up warm, enjoy a brisk walk and return to delicious homemade comfort food. Guests will appreciate those relaxed meals as a welcome change from lavish Christmas fare. Christmas is about sharing time and food with loved ones, family and friends. It is great to read that more Americans go home for Thanksgiving than for Christmas and yet no gifts are exchanged at Thanksgiving. When we stay with the underlying message of Christmas we can have a special, loving time and yet not need three years to recover from the expense of it all!

Either at a Christmas flower greenhouse, in the back row of a church or beside a local skating rink, sit down on a bench and just watch and listen for at least 15 minutes. From peaceful silence and whispers to happy music, singing and playful children voices, let the sounds of Christmas overtake you. If you have children, spend some quality time with them such as baking some favorite Christmas snacks in the kitchen together or making some homemade Christmas decorations or greeting cards. The latter can be made very professionally using a computer program and printer. and if there is a nice snowfall do not go outside to shovel it off your driveway. Take a walk in the falling snow or right after the snowfall. The dulling of sounds that a snowfall brings is amazing. If you have small children pull them along on a sled. For older kids go tobogganing with them, help them make a snowman or a snow fort and have a friendly snowball fight.

Unfortunately I find myself overwhelmed with the long duration of Christmas and I find it difficult to really enjoy Christmas the way that I used to. Between the hectic chores of shopping for gifts, finishing work projects and meeting family obligations it is getting increasingly difficult to sit back, relax and enjoy the season.Often the times reserved for Christmas family celebrations, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, involve last-minute shopping, cooking, cleaning, gift wrapping and traveling and therefore they become a blur of hurried stress.More and more I have found that my personal Christmas, those few moments of complete peace and contentment, fall outside of family gatherings and official Christmas events that I must attend. Sometimes it happens while I am driving around in my car looking at Christmas light displays and listening to Christmas music. It may come during an impromptu visit to a friends house or when someone unexpectedly drops in on me. Often it happens in the middle of a concert or Christmas pageant at my local church. Almost always it happens spontaneously.But what if that moment does not arrive on its own?